Congress Wants Haryana Govt Dismissed as Cops Quiz Man Over Conspiracy to Disrupt Farmers’ Protest
The Congress on Saturday demanded the dismissal of the Haryana government and sought a probe into alleged attempts to disrupt the farmers’ agitation after a man was nabbed for “conspiring” to instigate violence during the protesters proposed tractor parade on January 26. Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh said the BJP government in Haryana, led by Manohar Lal Khattar, has “lost the moral right and trust of people to govern”. The man was being questioned by the Haryana police Saturday after agitating farmer leaders alleged he was involved in a conspiracy to kill four of them and create disturbance during their proposed tractor parade in Delhi on Republic Day.
“Based on how apathetic and vicious the approach of the Haryana government has been towards the farmers and their protests, we demand that the Haryana government led by M L Khattar be dismissed immediately as they have lost all moral right and trust of the people to serve the state,” Vallabh told a press conference here. “Immediate investigation be initiated and the real perpetrators behind the sinister conspiracy to destroy peaceful farmer protests be brought to justice,” he said. Vallabh claimed the “sinister plot” of causing disruption has come to light with the arrest of a man who claimed there was a plan to “stage a violent action” by the farmers and provide a free hand to the police to launch an onslaught against them. “Who is behind this sinister conspiracy of disrupting the peaceful farmer protests and attacking them?” he asked. “What the Haryana government and its police are trying to cover up,” the Congress leader asked, after a video of the man was issued in public in which he claimed that he was forced to speak about the conspiracy by the farmers.
“Who wants to convert this peaceful protest into a violent one?” Vallabh asked. The Congress leader said the “autocratic nature” of the government has again come to the fore as it is resorting to “dirty tricks” to ensure the farmers don’t get their due. The government has been trying to break the farmers’ protest right from the beginning, ridiculing them and suppressing their voice, he alleged. Vallabh alleged the government has been trying to defame the farmers by labelling them as Khalistanis, Pakistanis, Chinese agents, and making comments about their attire and food, as well as also trying to divide and rule. The Congress leader also claimed that one cannot expect a fair investigation from the Haryana government, where “the Chief Minister is saying something and the viral video is something else”.
The man was allegedly nabbed at the Singhu border by the protesting farmer leaders who paraded him before reporters on Friday night and later handed him over to the police. His face covered with a scarf, the man claimed that a plan was hatched to shoot four farmer leaders, who are known faces in the media, on the stage on Saturday.
“On January 26, there was a plan to create disturbance during the tractor parade by opening fire on Delhi Police personnel, which would prompt them to retaliate against the protesting farmers in a strong manner,” he claimed. A police official said the man, stated to be around 21 years of age, was being quizzed in Sonipat by the Crime Branch of the Haryana Police. The man has been residing in Sonipat and has no previous criminal record.
